Man convicted of Burlington home invasion

Published: Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 07:00 PM.

GRAHAM — On July 26, Gregory Lewis Williams rang the front doorbell of the home at 236 Highland Ave. in Burlington before walking around to the rear of the house and kicking in the back door.

Inside, a terrified woman and her 4-year-old child came face to face with Williams before fleeing and calling police.

That woman, Shawana Emechel, told a judge Friday that her daughter is still afraid of the doorbell, frightened that “the bad man” is coming back. Emechel spent months afraid to leave her home and be there alone, and frightened of strangers in the neighborhood.

“Although police reports won’t show we were robbed of anything, … he stole my sense of security and time. When this happened, my life stopped,” Emechel said Friday, reading from a prepared statement.

She spoke moments before Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner of Wake County sentenced Williams to a minimum of seven years — and a maximum of nine years, five months — in prison.

A jury found Williams guilty Friday of breaking and entering. His trial began Tuesday, and the jury began deliberating Friday morning.

Williams later entered an Alford guilty plea to being a habitual felon, dramatically increasing his prison time under state law. His attorney, David Remington, gave notice of appeal on the breaking and entering conviction.

GRAHAM — On July 26, Gregory Lewis Williams rang the front doorbell of the home at 236 Highland Ave. in Burlington before walking around to the rear of the house and kicking in the back door.

Inside, a terrified woman and her 4-year-old child came face to face with Williams before fleeing and calling police.

That woman, Shawana Emechel, told a judge Friday that her daughter is still afraid of the doorbell, frightened that “the bad man” is coming back. Emechel spent months afraid to leave her home and be there alone, and frightened of strangers in the neighborhood.

“Although police reports won’t show we were robbed of anything, … he stole my sense of security and time. When this happened, my life stopped,” Emechel said Friday, reading from a prepared statement.

She spoke moments before Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner of Wake County sentenced Williams to a minimum of seven years — and a maximum of nine years, five months — in prison.

A jury found Williams guilty Friday of breaking and entering. His trial began Tuesday, and the jury began deliberating Friday morning.

Williams later entered an Alford guilty plea to being a habitual felon, dramatically increasing his prison time under state law. His attorney, David Remington, gave notice of appeal on the breaking and entering conviction.

Before he was sentenced, Williams told Emechel he was sorry for what happened to her — though he still denied committing the crime. He also admitted to making a number of bad decisions that had led him to a habitual felon conviction.

“I’ve been going through the same thing since I was 13, standing before a judge,” Williams said. “I believe in God, and I believe in karma. I think some of what’s happening today is because I made a lot of, a lot of mistakes. … I’m going to try my hardest to be more productive in life.”